Todaropsis eblanae

Why "Flying" squid? Do the so-called flying squid species get their name becasue they take small leaps out of the water? I've heard that some species of squid do this. Or is it because of the swimming method, like in cirrate otcopods?

A number of species are given this nickname, including Ommastrephes bartrami, Onychoteuthis banksii, and even sometimes Dosidicus gigas. (If you Google 'flying squid' nearly every link will give you a diffrerent species.) In the case of O. banksii it's because they fairly commonly wash or 'fly' on board the decks of ships, particularly in rough weather; I assume there is a similar story for the others.

A number of species are given this nickname, including Ommastrephes bartrami, Onychoteuthis banksii, and even sometimes Dosidicus gigas. (If you Google 'flying squid' nearly every link will give you a diffrerent species.) In the case of O. banksii it's because they fairly commonly wash or 'fly' on board the decks of ships, particularly in rough weather; I assume there is a similar story for the others.

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IIRC, in one of Richard Ellis' books, he quotes a story about one of the groups sailing primitive-reproduction boats (the Kon-Tiki or similar) across the pacific having a school of Dosidicus gigas leap out of the water and on deck... apparently, it causes a good deal of excitement to have a bunch of 50lb+ squids flailing and inking on a small boat!